


The Girl I Left Behind Me

by Mysterywriter101



Series: Anger at Dawn [6]
Category: American Civil War - Fandom, Gettysburg (1993)
Genre: American Civil War, American History, American Politics, British Female Character, British Slang, College, Cultural Differences, F/M, Girlfriend is a One hundred fifty year old ghost, Love at First Sight, One Shot, Resurrection, Social Issues, Time Travel, Tragic Romance, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-07-18 05:50:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16112150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mysterywriter101/pseuds/Mysterywriter101
Summary: When a reenactor went from accidentally traveling back in time during a reenactment to heading home to the present yet 'Left the Girl Behind Me', Jonathan Meyer was unfortunate that his sweetheart was killed in action at Cold Harbor just days after he received a letter with good news...Not to mention that she is now a Ghost...Does that mean he will give up on her?An Alternate Universe to the Anger at Dawn series.





	1. Chapter 1

                                                               


	2. Chapter 2

**Cold Harbor National Cemetery**

**June 4th, 2014**

John was in tears and wearing a suit and tie as he approached the gravesite that read ' _ **Andy Smith 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry 1845-1864**_ '. The reenactor didn't expect to travel back in time a year ago during the 150th Gettysburg Reenactment, but yet he became involved in the _original_ battle with the _actual_ Iron Brigade and followed Grant in his Overland Campaign. But after Petersburg, the man didn't expect to head home to the 21st Century. He didn't even think he was even going to head home to his peculiar time...But there was a price.

He laid some roses on the grave and began to speak."Hey Abbs..." Meyer trailed, sighing since he couldn't go on, but he will for her. He owes her this much at least."I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you and our unborn child..."

John felt cold all of a sudden. And that's unusual since the weather was in the upper 90s. John turned around and saw a familiar, although radiant, blonde in a cavalry uniform emerge next to him. She also wraps her arms around him...Meyer didn't expect to see a ghost at all...He had truly never encountered one, not even at Gettysburg nor any other _supposedly_ haunted battlefields, yet here she was.

"It's not your fault Jonathan." She pointed out, acting adorable. He gazed into her ice blue eyes...She was still beautiful and he _honestly_ didn't expect to see her again...

John sighed once more. It was unexpected to see her appeared by his side and Meyer should have been alarmed, but he wasn't. "I know...It's just that I received a letter from you regarding the good news and the next thing I know, I read about your death in _Harper's Weekly_."

"John..." She reaches out and attempts to wipe away his tears. "Please don't."

"You know that I miss you, right?"

"I miss you too John..."She lamentingly admits.

John pulled her in tighter despite her practically being mist...He didn't care if she was essentially just a fog. To even hold her again was a miracle, to say the least.

"I love you, Abbs."

"I love you too John." She began to weep."You know that wanted to be at your side, John, but my time had come. It's time to move on and I want you now just to not forget about me, but find someone else...You don't have to love her."

"All I care about is you, Abbs. Nothing is going to change that."

But Meyer knew that she would convince him otherwise...He almost knew her _too_ well.

"John. You'll only see me once a year at the most...I can't leave here nor do I have the energy to see you for more for a week."

"Then I'll make it count." He promised as he caressed her forehead. "For you and the little one's sake."

* * *

 

**Cold Harbor National Cemetery**

**June 4th, 2015**

John waited patiently for his specter to show up...It's been over a year since he last saw her, but he thought it was worth it. The Hoosier managed to find room in his schedule to take this special trip.

"Nice to see that you finally showed up." He smirked. "Was there a ghost convocation or something?"

"Johnathan..."She playfully gasped out in shock. "Were you worried that I wasn't going to see you?"

Meyer shook his head in amusement at her antics."No...Why should I?" He chuckled. "It's good to see you, Abbs."

"Likewise." Foxley smiled...She still could get lost in those blue-gray eyes of his and she sighed happily. He kept his word and she wasn't entirely sure if John would, yet he did...He was a man who always keeps his commitments no matter what.

_'He would have been an amazing father and husband.'_ The woman didn't expect to get pregnant after the lovebirds got it on after a night out drinking... Abby shook her head and focused on the task at hand.

"So how was your year John dearest?" The blonde hummed as she sat down next to him.

"It was fine... Summer was boring and I'm studying American History at Purdue University."

"University? I thought you lived on a farm? How can you afford it?"

John knew she was confused and didn't realize how much the world had changed in one hundred and fifty years.

"Society changed Abbs."

"Right...I've forgotten." She lamented...The Anglo-Scot mourned that the world she grew up has changed and the home she once knew was gone...

"Hey, Abbs..." He solaced. Abby was raised in a gentry family just twenty miles outside of Bristol and understandably she was in denial. "Abigail. It's not your fault...The Empire was in decline after World War I. It was inevitable."

"John. I still can't believe it...India, Canada, and Australia are all independent?"

_'This is going to take a while.'_ John mused.

* * *

**Cold Harbor National Cemetery**

**June 4th, 2018**

Four years was a long time and John still managed to visit his sweetheart annually, but the previous year and even the last few months was getting unpleasant in society. There was a bomb threat at the Cedar Creek Civil War reenactment and protesters were demanding to take down statues all because of a flag.

"You got to be bloody joking!?" Abbs shouted in anger. She didn't particularly like the Johnnies, but this was ridiculous!

"I wish that I was." John sighed as he told her about the monuments being taken down and the protests going on...

"Still, this matter is unbelievable...Don't the fecking idjits realize that men died for a cause?"

_'She's pretty pissed if she's sound Scottish'_ John reflected as his girlfriend ranted at the radicals...She was seriously bidialectal and he was still surprised that she speaks in either an upper-class English accent or a Scottish accent at times.

"Oh, they're aware...They just think its all because of slavery and racism and the jackasses keep on shouting racists, racists, and racists."

She snorted in an unladylike manner..."So were quite a few of my comrades...These protesters are knobheads. Perhaps if they came here, I'll tell them to bugger off."

John laughed. "I can see it now. _Ghost of Union Soldier Scares off Confederate Monuments Protesters..._ That's not such a bad idea Abbs."

The blonde blushed..."Thank you..."But she became downcasted at a thought. "Still, do you think it's embarrassing to be in love with a Spirit?"

"Look, Abbs, you know that I don't care if you're a revenant...I love you."

"That you do, dearest." She granted the reenactor a peck on the cheek. To John, it felt like a raindrop, but it was one he cherished as he infrequently received them.

John looked down on his watch and saw the time. "Well, Abbs. I guess you need your rest...Take care, Abby."

The Ghost yawned before she disappears for her eternal slumber. "Goodnight Jonathan...I hope that I'll see you soon."

Meyer watched as his girlfriend began to fade, evanescing from view. Before he left, John laid his hands on the gravestone one last time for the evening.

"Sleep well, Abbs... And you too, son..."

John began to depart the cemetery but as he left, the Hoosier could swear that he heard singing...Specifically 'Tenting Tonight on the Old Campground'.

_Many are the hearts that are weary tonight_

_Wishing for the war to cease_

_Many are the hearts that are looking for the right_

_To see the dawn of peace_

_Tenting tonight, tenting tonight, tenting on the old campground_

_We're tenting tonight on the old campground_

_Give us a song to cheer_

_Our weary hearts, a song of home_

_And friends we love so dear_

_Many are the hearts that are weary tonight_

_Wishing for the war to cease_

_Many are the hearts that are looking for the right_

_To see the dawn of peace_

_Tenting tonight, tenting tonight, tenting on the old campground_

_We've been tenting tonight on the old campground_

_Thinking of days gone by_

_Of the loved ones at home that gave us the hand_

_And the tear that said "Goodbye"_

_Many are the hearts that are weary tonight_

_Wishing for the war to cease_

_Many are the hearts that are looking for the right_

_To see the dawn of peace_

_Tenting tonight, tenting tonight, tenting on the old campground_

_We are tired of war on the old campground_

_Many are dead and gone_

_Of the brave and true who've left their homes_

_Others been wounded long_

_Many are the hearts that are weary tonight_

_Wishing for the war to cease_

_Many are the hearts that are looking for the right_

_To see the dawn of peace_

_Tenting tonight, tenting tonight, tenting on the old campground_

_We've been fighting today on the old campground_

_Many are lying near_

_Some are dead and some are dying_

_Many are in tears_

_Many are the hearts that are weary tonight_

_Wishing for the war to cease_

_Many are the hearts that are looking for the right_

_To see the dawn of peace_

_Tenting tonight, tenting tonight, tenting on the old campground_

_'Even One hundred and fifty-three years later, people can't seem to get over the War between the States.'_ John looked one last time at the cemetery before starting the vehicle...As he drove off, the Reenactor saw the campfires smoking and smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

**June 8th, 2018**

**Purdue University.**

**West Lafayette, Indiana.**

John was in his class learning about a subject he literally was knowledgeable in, not to mention that he lived through and experienced the _actual_ conflict against all odds.  
  
"So the American Civil War was started because of the southern states wanted to protect their trade of cotton being hand picked by slaves..."  
  
Everyone in the class gave John dirty looks as they heard the words 'slaves'. Despite being a reenactor in a Union reenacting group, he defended the average soldiers of the Confederacy, and add to the fact he recently got back from Parris Island and was now a reservist in the United States Marine Corps, John was not the popular student at all in a classroom full of liberals.  
  
"Would anyone like to add any comments?" The Professor asked.  
  
Mindy Schneider, a strawberry blonde haired, hazel eyed student sitting right in front of John raised her hand.  
  
"Yes, Mindy?"  
  
"Umm Mister Cartwell, do you think John should speak to the class about his theory on why the war started?" The cheerleader then spanned around, glared at the conservative, and stuck her tongue out.  
  
_'Dammit!'_ Meyer thought. The serendipitous time traveler despised the cheerleader who ironically was a Pro-Abortionist, Feminist slut who slept with a quarter of the Football team...It wouldn't surprise John if she also _comforted_ a few of her fellow cheerleaders as well.  
  
The reenactor knew what he needed to do and unfortunately, he was cornered…

The Conservative got up from his desk and walked to the front of the room to defend his case against the jury and John was on trial, but he knows that the verdict has already been reached. All Meyer can hope for was to persuade at least a minority and the odds were still low.

“Well, just before the war, less than one percent…”

“Racist!”

The farmboy sighed. _‘Of course, I was going to be interrupted...’_

“Bigot!” Another jeered.

“Misogynist!”

“Republican Pig!”

“Hey! Calm down...Let him speak.” Professor Cartwell intervened, but he also has a cocky grin on his face...Meyer respectfully smiled back despite the fact that the teacher didn’t deserve one.

“Thank you sir...Like I was saying less than one percent of southerners before the war owned slaves at all...The majority were farmers who grew crops like corn and soybeans...Only the wealthiest of Southerners had slaves and plantations...Any questions?”

“Yeah! How about you go fuck Sarah Palin, loser!”

“I agree with Tommy! Why should we listen to propaganda from white supremacists?"  
  
_'If only the idiots knew about Abraham Lincoln and the Colonization Society.'_ John thought since even the Great Emancipator himself initially supported sending freed slaves to Liberia.

* * *

 **John's apartment**  
**Fifteen minutes outside Purdue University.**  
**West Lafayette, Indiana.**

John looked at a picture frame he kept alongside his bed in the apartment...It was a daguerreotype picture of him and Abby a few weeks after they began their relationship...

The reenactor sighed as he glanced at the soldier in a cavalry uniform...To most people, it was one of the countless young men who fought in the war and perhaps didn't return to their homes alive. But to John, it was a case of someone special and a rarity of the time.

"Well, Abbs...It seems like your sacrifice means nothing in today's society..." Meyer sighed. "They're forgetting that the war was more complicated than it appears...America wasn't even your country as you mentioned quite a few times, yet you fell in love with the land..."

The farmboy lamented that he couldn't do anything about preventing her death at Cold Harbor. They were on different ground miles apart from each other.

"Well, Abby. I guess I'll talk to you sometime next year...Wish it was more often."He declared as he shut off the lamp and pulled the covers over him.

* * *

God looks down on John and felt sorry that the reenactor was being accused of titles he did not deserve at all...John was neither a bigot or misogynist nor was he a racist...He was just caught in the middle of a debate about his nation's past.

**"John didn't do anything wrong really...Perhaps I was hard on him for becoming excited for Gettysburg. Society is changing and it's not for the better." He mumbled...**

The creator of the Universe itself looked down onto the world and saw chaos...ISIS was on the run, but there was doubt in society...Venezuela is suffering from economic hardship, North Korea was still developing its nuclear weapons program, and Law and Order was breaking down...Earth was on the verge of anarchy.

Abigail, also went through hardship as well. She went through a rather abusive relationship with her mother-in-law and faced discrimination by those who judged person's by their race, not their character.

Remembering the words of one of his disciples, Reverend Martin Luther King Junior, God made a decision that he didn't take lightly...But to him, it felt like the correct choice.

* * *

**Cold Harbor National Cemetery**

**June 12th, 2018**

John walked towards her grave once more, unsure if she was still available and he believes that was his last chance for seeing her before he has to wait another year since the battle of Cold Harbor ended on the 12th.

"Hey Abbs…" The Hoosier sniveled. "I'm not sure if you can hear me, but I'm back earlier than expected...I'm thinking of just transferring my studies to the University of Richmond...Look, I miss you okay and nothing is going to change the fact…"

"Let me guess...It's these 'Social Justice Warriors' again?" A familiar voice behind him reckoned.

"Nice try, Abbs."

"Well, I did give it my best shot."The transparent blonde shrugged.

John shook his head in amusement. "My sweetheart the ghost...Might as well call you boo."

"Ha ha. Very funny Jonathan." She wasn't amused in the slightest.

"Sorry angel." But the reenactor still smirked and Abigail groaned at his antics.

"Let's just get back on topic, shall we?"

"Of course...I'm listening."

"John…What have they done this time with their desecration?"

"Oh, the usual. Ignorant about what actually occurred back in the day." He smirked. 

"I'm getting old."

Meyer snorted. "So says the one hundred fifty year old spectre." The Hoosier deadpans, receiving a chuckle from the Somersetian in return.

"You got me there, Jonathan." Foxley beams just before a lightning bolt struck the tombstone

"What the fuck!" John wiped his eyes and checked himself for injuries. Seeing that he was unharmed, the reenactor glanced over to check on his sweetheart, unsure if "Abbs? Are you..." 

Jonathan was stunned. Laying before him on top of the grave was not a beautiful translucent apparition, but a gorgeous flesh and blood young, flaxen-haired woman in a shell jacket.

 _'Shit!'_ He thought. There was no explanation as to what occurred other than it was a supernatural phenomenon. But the man could only think of one response and he damn  sure wasn't going to leave her behind. Meyer readied himself for a long night, even thinking of a good explanation to the doctors if medical attention at a hospital was required yet it appeared that she didn't need the stress of strange surroundings since it looks like she was just merely unconscious.

Sighing, John took off his jacket, rolled it up into a ball and placed it under her head. Then he waited.

* * *

 

"John..." Abigail moans as she awakened. "What happened...?"

"Hey, sleeping beauty. I don't know what happened but somehow you were resurrected."

"Resurrec...You mean I'm alive?!"

"Umm..." John stuttered for a moment. "Yes?"

The Briton proceeded to pinched herself, just to be sure and John noticed the look of disbelief in her stunning blue eyes. The man watched in horror as his girl proceeded to determined if she was alive.

"Ouch!"

"Abbs? Please don't hurt yourself."

The blonde frowns. "Now I'm stuck here with all of these radicals." 

Clearly, with the pouting face, the Hoosier can tell that she was not enjoying the fact that she was going have to coexist with the Social Justice Warriors.

"And me, of course." John grinned. "Look at the bright side, Abbs. We don't have to worry about the limitations to our relationship, now."

"But John." She whimpered "I...I don't know how much the world has changed...Other than them and the fall of the Empire, of course."

"We'll work it out, okay?" The man reassures her, caressing her neck. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you again. I promise."

"And our child." She reminded him nonchalantly. 

John's eyes lit up as he remember her last letter to him. "Right. And the little one, of course. I love you, Abbs."

 Foxley lightly touched his cheek before placing a peck upon it. "I love you as well, Jonathan."


End file.
